That’s Nice!

There are certain things that scare a man that he won’t admit. Snakes for instance, or being forced to watch a Gossip Girl marathon. Also on that list is the dreaded floral shirt. In fact that very shirt may be hanging in your wardrobe right now, a birthday gift from your mother or girlfriend that you’re ‘keeping for a special occasion’. If you’re open-minded enough to admit it you may have bought it all by yourself. Still either way, there it sits, unwearable and judging you for it.

Items like floral shirts fall into a category I like to call ‘statement pieces’. Especially when the print is larger. (For the record, a Hawaiian printed shirt makes only one statement, and it’s not a good one.) The basic premise of a statement piece is to allow it to do all the talking. When you have too many conversations going on you run the risk of dazzling them into a state of confusion. What you don’t want is to look like is the Chelsea flower show.

Consider your ‘statement piece’ like a new piece of artwork. The next step would be to frame it, right? You can do this by wearing a black jacket or other bold contrast. Now keep the accessories as plain and simple as possible. Elaborate accessories are statement pieces all on their own. Personally, when choosing to wear something bold I like my ‘frame’ to be one colour or shade. For instance if I wore a hot-pink shirt and a purple paisley jacket you would laugh at me. If I paired it instead with a sleek black jacket and a pair of raw denims the pink is saying enough without overdoing it. To explain this a step further imagine your full outfit. Now colour it all black. Choose one item, like your shoes for instance and change it to a colour of your choosing.

If you would rather blend your floral shirt you can do it like the Italians. If it’s mostly blue based choose a contrasting blue or similar colour pullover. Now add a linen jacket in a soft beige or dark navy and add a pocket square in a similar tone for that little extra. Your overall look would be much like a bouquet, if you can excuse the pun. Complimenting one colour with another will soften the whole outfit and it take it from a statement piece to a chic European look.

This way you can wear your loud stripes or floral shirts and still feel like the macho, macho man that you are.

That’s Nice!

It’s bad enough you’ve had a long day. All you wanted to do was go home and have a few beers in front of the television, relax, kick-back, unwind. And it’s shot down with one simple message from your girlfriend. ‘Don’t forget tonight!’. Your heart stops. You break into a sweat. In less than an hour you have to go to some event and you don’t have enough time to get properly ready.

What are you supposed to wear? Is anything even clean?

Firstly, calm down. Concentrate on getting home safely, your date would prefer you alive to underdressed. Most of these inner-city do’s require a semi-casual dress-code. Mainly because most of the people attending these events are like you. Forgetful, late, human. Dressing is an easy formula to work out. You just start with your skeleton piece. This dictates the flow of the following garments. Then one by one you add the necessary piece to compliment it.

Gallery openings, semi-casual dinners and work events don’t necessarily require a suit. If in this case it does then you know what to do. If not, a nice mix of the two will suffice. Let us look at the individual skeleton piece and work at dressing it up.

1. JEANS: Add a pair of smart leather shoes in black or brown. Match your belt and add a simple, clean shirt. This works if you were wearing a suit just by switching to slim, raw or decent faded jeans.

2. WORK SHIRT: If you’re short on time to change even this, add a jacket. An open collar look is still smart. If you own any, add a pocket square to take it a step further.

3. SUIT: Toss the jacket. A neat, plain cardigan or a V-neck pullover works in the same way as a jacket but is less formal. To smarten this look up add a slim tie that matches your shirt. Replace your more formal suit shoe with a slim leather shoe or appropriate loafers for a more stylish finish.

If you have time, a quick shave is a good idea. Run some product through your hair, brush your teeth and spritz your favorite cologne to finish it off.

This Week in Style

That’s Nice!

Every year the new years resolution brings on goals to break the previous years shortcomings. You want to quit smoking, take up jogging, French lessons, cooking classes… Or perhaps you are just so desperate for a clean slate you’re after a new job, too?

While you may believe your first impression is measured by the quality of your C.V, this is only part of it. In many jobs it is an imperative for the employee to look his best, well maybe not in I.T. People who look after their appearance are taken more seriously and furthermore trusted to deal with clients directly. They don’t hire pretty girls at a bar just because of their mixing skills.

1. Research the company you are interviewing with. This will help in preparing how you will dress. Having a friend on the inside helps but you may need to stake out the entrance to get a better idea of a dress code if you are completely lost.

2. The more formal the industry the more likely you’ll have to wear a suit. A dark grey or navy blue suit will serve you well. Stick to a basic colour scheme on this one, no point in getting risky till you know you have the job. Borrow clean, fitted attire from a friend or relative before buying a whole look you are not guaranteed to make regular use of. Your shoes should match your belt and if you so much as pick up a cartoon tie you’re dead to me.

3. A creative company won’t expect you to show up in a suit but it does not mean you can look too casual. Wear an ironed button-down shirt no matter where you interview. You can then combine it with khaki’s, fitted trousers and leather shoes or loafers. Adding a neat, plain cardigan or pullover is also a nice option.

4. Don’t wear too many accessories. There is an old trick to putting your watch in your pocket to avoid looking at it. A simple fragrance is a good touch but avoid putting on too much. Polished shoes will show you pay attention to detail. A leather folio or briefcase is best to carry your pertinent documentation. A stack of papers or a flip-file will not suffice.

5. Arrive early and give your appearance a good check before going into your interview. Straighten your tie and ensure clean teeth, fresh breath and that your hair is neat, too. Go in there knowing your appearance is in check so your personality and experience can shine. You’re already half way there. Good Luck!

That’s Nice!

People often tell me they don’t understand fashion. The truth is that half the time people in fashion don’t understand it either. We just go with it. It’s confusing, and I fear that for as long as there are fashion magazines and blogs telling you how to dress, there will be a man reading the advice completely lost to it.

We are encouraged to buy. It’s a machine that has stood intact long before you were born and will live on beyond your death, or 2012 depending on how gullible you really are. It is an industry of many layers. These layers go hand in hand and serve the greater purpose of getting you in that latest trend, poking at your first generation iPad and coaxing you into believing you need that beer. And you do. We keep our jobs and you remain happy as a clam until that newer version is available the following week.

So there’s that. Money. But in addition to that fashion serves another purpose, one that you may not realize is working right now as you read this. That T-shirt you’re wearing? It’s your favorite because it hugs your arms in a certain way, it makes you feel like you’re a little more in shape than you really are. It makes you feel good! In short, that is fashion.

Sure, there are those of us who follow the latest trends because it’s an easy enough formula for us to work out. But at the end of the day we are aiming to achieve two objectives. One, clothe ourselves, and two, look good doing it. Is that not what you want, too?

Firstly know this: expensive, fashionable, luxurious clothing doesn’t make you any more fashionable than fame makes Christian Bale a nice guy. Students understand this better than anyone.

When preparing yourself to dress better, you need to consider a few things first. What is it that you want to achieve? Do you want to dress like a hip 22-year old or do you want to look your best? Assuming you chose the latter then let’s move on because, let’s face it, there is truth to that ‘sheep’s clothing’ adage, you know.

Consider your body type, your age, and the line of work you’re in. These factors should affect what type of clothing you buy. Would you wear flip-flops to a business meeting? If you live in Cape Town, don’t answer that.

While I go into the various levels of your soon-to-be second skin I want you to realize something. Fashion, in its overwhelming cloak of disguise, is completely achievable, for anyone, even you.